Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg

The story of Annie Cohen is a tragedy, a story of mental illness and physical disability, of family abandonment and secrets. Steve Luxenberg first discovered Annie's story when his mother mentioned having a sister to a doctor in her old age. Steve and his siblings grew up being told that their mother was an only child, so the casual mention of a sister, even one that was put in an institution at the age of two, was rather shocking. It wasn't until after his mother's death that Luxenberg discovered Annie's true identity - she had grown up with his mother, had not been institutionalized until the age of 21, when his mother was 23. But in the family history according to Beth Luxenberg, she did not exist.
Annie's Ghosts is Luxenberg's attempts to piece together Annie's history. He includes not only family details, but also details about the history of services to people with mental illness and mental and physical disabilities. Not only is Luxenberg trying to discover the truth about an aunt that he never knew, he is also searching to find the answer to why his mother would have kept such an enormous fact about her family a secret. He is not even sure that his father knew about Annie, or which of his mom's friends knew. Steve has to reconcile this part of his mother with the woman he knew and loved, and he begins to reconsider some family memories he himself holds.
This is a fascinating story of a single family's history, and all of the little details that tie into that history. Luxenberg reconnects with cousins he never knew, and discovers more about the tiny Eastern European village that his grandparents came from than his family had ever told him. Reading this book forces the reader to compare their own family to the Luxenbergs. Are there secrets that we know nothing about hiding in our history?

The Midwife by Jennifer Worth

The Midwife is the memoir of Jennifer Worth, and it follows a year or so of her life when she was in her twenties. Worth trained as a midwife with a convent of nuns who served London's poor East End in the 1950's. This book chronicles her time with the nuns.
The stories that Worth tells alternate between uplifting, heartbreaking, charming, and hilarious, and her descriptions of the characters that she meets and interacts with are fascinating. As I am currently planning a family, and thinking quite a lot about pregnancy, I found this book even more compelling. Worth gives some interesting history about midwifery and obstetrics, and I found it illuminating that, at least for East End women, the midwife was the only medical attendant they expected to have at the birth. Going to the hospital meant bad, bad news, and a doctor's presence meant only slightly less danger. Yet the nuns provided excellent prenatal care, and obviously excellent service, so no woman wanted anything else. In addition to the stories of the births she attended, Worth tells us stories about the various people she meets in her day-to-day work. From the disturbed, elderly Mrs. Jenkins, to the family of Len and Conchita Warren, this book is full of fascinating people.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I don't think it was just because of the connection I currently feel to all pregnant women and stories of birth. Worth is a great story-teller, although at times the chapters did not flow very well from one to another. And the end of the book came on me rather abruptly. But I guess when you are telling stories about real life, that is what happens. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in stories about real people, and is not afraid of the descriptions of birth that of course come along with a book like this.

Walking Through Walls by Philip Smith

Walking Through Walls is the memoir of Philip Smith, an artist and former managing editor of GQ. It follows his upbringing in Miami with his decorator father, Lew Smith, who also just happened to be a very powerful psychic healer. Philip begins his story when he is a child and his parents are the social butterflies of the town. Lew's initiation into the world of natural healing comes first through diet changes, when he decides that his family needs to eat a macrobiotic diet. From there he continues his exploration into mind-body connections, and begins to learn how to contact and be contacted by spirits. It is these spirits that share with him the revolutionary healing techniques that he will use to perform miracles.
I enjoyed this book at the beginning, reading about his parents' lives in Miami, and his father's decorating business. It was interesting to see how Philip's mother reacted to his father's explorations - she continued her coffee and cigarette habit even while her husband and son were living almost exclusively on brown rice. And Lew's spiritual journey was fascinating, whether or not you believe in any of the things he participated in. But after Philip's parents split up, and his father began to use his "pendulum" the book lost me. Lew just got too far out there, and while he may have performed miraculous healings, the explanations of his methods were just beyond kooky. The lengths that Philip went to as a teenager to try to escape his father and the spirit guides was entertaining, and gave a glimpse of what it must have been like to live with a man who performed excorcisms and received communications from the spirits on a regular basis. I know this was not the author's intention, but the book left me feeling sorry for Lew Smith, the man whose life was hijacked by "spirit guides" who left him no time for himself or his family.

Dog Years by Mark Doty

I decided to go ahead and read this book even though I knew without a doubt that it would make me cry. It is a memoir about a man and his dogs, and how they help him through the death of his partner, and how he lives through their deaths in the years following. They are beautiful dogs, retrievers, golden and black, Beau and Arden. They are described with love, through a poet's eyes.
Beau and Arden help Doty to survive the death of his partner, and they give him hope for the future. But they, too, will become sick and eventually die, Beau sooner than later. It is heartbreaking to read of the profound depression that overtakes Doty when he realizes how sick Beau is. This time, he pulls through the death again with the help of Arden, and his current partner. Reading about the tenderness that attends each death was difficult for me. Even though Kitty died over a year ago now, it is still difficult for me, and I wasn't even beside her as she passed. She wanted to be alone, but after reading this book, I almost wish I had stayed with her. Dogs are not solitary as cats are, however, so I suppose it is different.
As sad as this book is, it is a lovely story about dogs and their humans. For those of us that have dogs, it is enjoyable to read descriptions of their mischievous behavior, that we recognize so well. And their intense loyalty and love for their humans is magical. Dogs are wonderful friends, and this book is worth the sadness for anyone who loves them.

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is one of those books that you want to read, but at the same time, you know that the story is not going to be a happy one. The story takes place in Sierra Leone, during the civil wars of the 1990's. Ishmael tells his story, beginning with a glimpse of what his life was like before the war came to his small village. Much of the narration centers on his life after the war separates him from his village and family, but before he is made a boy soldier. For two years he wanders the jungles with some friends, going from village to village, but they all know that they can never truly escape the war. He sees terrible things as he flees from one place to the next.
Ishmael is brought into the nation's army as a boy soldier at the age of 13, after final hope of reuniting with his family is lost. The officers play off of his desire for revenge. They give him food, drugs, and a place to sleep. He is given a gun, and responsibility far beyond that which should be given to any 13 year old. All of this makes him feel necessary to the group. Ishmael's narration does not dwell on his time in the army. After he is taken to a rehabilitation center at 15, he tells a little bit of the story, but mostly he seems to understand that his readers will realize the horrors of being in such a war without his descriptions.
Ishmael was lucky to be singled out as being special at his rehabilitation center. He is sent to America, where he speaks on behalf of children affected by war. Later, when war once again comes to his home to destroy his family, he uses the connections he made in America to help him leave his war-torn home. His individual story shows what a person can do when they have hope for the future and a desire for peace. But the overall story is one of a country torn apart, families destroyed, cities ravaged. Many of the children that humanitarians try to rehabilitate end up back with the army because they have no where else to go. This book opens the reader's eyes to the destruction of war, and offers hope for those children trapped in it.